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A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups.
Klein Bonaire is a small uninhabited islet off the west coast of the Caribbean island of Bonaire, and is part of the Dutch special municipality of Bonaire.
Coral bleaching is the process when corals become white due to various stressors, such as changes in temperature, light, or nutrients. Bleaching occurs when coral polyps expel the zooxanthellae that live inside their tissue, causing the coral to turn white. The zooxanthellae are photosynthetic, and as the water temperature rises, they begin to produce reactive oxygen species. This is toxic to the coral, so the coral expels the zooxanthellae. Since the zooxanthellae produce the majority of coral colouration, the coral tissue becomes transparent, revealing the coral skeleton made of calcium carbonate. Most bleached corals appear bright white, but some are blue, yellow, or pink due to pigment proteins in the coral.
Orbicella annularis, commonly known as the boulder star coral, is a species of coral that lives in the western Atlantic Ocean and is the most thoroughly studied and most abundant species of reef-building coral in the Caribbean to date. It also has a comprehensive fossil record within the Caribbean. This species complex has long been considered a generalist that exists at depths between 0 and 80 meters that grew into varying colony shapes in response to differing light conditions. Only recently with the help of molecular techniques has O. annularis been shown to be a complex of at least three separate species. Those species are divided into O. annularis, O. faveolata, and O. franksi. This coral was originally described as Montastraea annularis.
The Phoenix Islands Protected Area (PIPA) is located in the Republic of Kiribati, an ocean nation in the central Pacific approximately midway between Australia and Hawaii. PIPA constitutes 11.34% of Kiribati's exclusive economic zone (EEZ), and with a size of 408,250 km2 (157,630 sq mi), it is one of the largest marine protected areas (MPA) and one of the largest protected areas of any type on Earth. The PIPA was also designated as the world's largest and deepest UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010.
Human activities have substantial impact on coral reefs, contributing to their worldwide decline.[1] Damaging activities encompass coral mining, pollution, overfishing, blast fishing, as well as the excavation of canals and access points to islands and bays. Additional threats comprise disease, destructive fishing practices, and the warming of oceans.[2] Furthermore, the ocean's function as a carbon dioxide sink, alterations in the atmosphere, ultraviolet light, ocean acidification, viral infections, the repercussions of dust storms transporting agents to distant reefs, pollutants, and algal blooms represent some of the factors exerting influence on coral reefs. Importantly, the jeopardy faced by coral reefs extends far beyond coastal regions. The ramifications of climate change, notably global warming, induce an elevation in ocean temperatures that triggers coral bleaching—a potentially lethal phenomenon for coral ecosystems.
Forest Rohwer is an American microbial ecologist and Professor of Biology at San Diego State University. His particular interests include coral reef microbial ecology and viruses as both evolutionary agents and opportunistic pathogens in various environments.
Les Kaufman is an evolutionary ecologist specializing in the biology and conservation of aquatic ecosystems. He has special expertise in coral reef biology, the evolution and ecology of tropical great lakes fishes, and ecosystem-based management of marine resources.
Diploria is a monotypic genus of massive reef building stony corals in the family Mussidae. It is represented by a single species, Diploria labyrinthiformis, commonly known as grooved brain coral and is found in the western Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. It has a familiar, maze-like appearance.
Colpophyllia is a genus of stony corals in the family Mussidae. It is monotypic with a single species, Colpophyllia natans, commonly known as boulder brain coral or large-grooved brain coral. It inhabits the slopes and tops of reefs, to a maximum depth of fifty metres. It is characterised by large, domed colonies, which may be up to two metres across, and by the meandering network of ridges and valleys on its surface. The ridges are usually brown with a single groove, and the valleys may be tan, green, or white and are uniform in width, typically 2 centimetres. The polyps only extend their tentacles at night.
Orbicella faveolata, commonly known as mountainous star coral, is a colonial stony coral in the family Merulinidae. Orbicella faveolata is native to the coral coast of the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico and is listed as "endangered" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. O. faveolata was formerly known as Montastraea faveolata.
Orbicella franksi, commonly known as boulder star coral, is a colonial stony coral in the family Merulinidae. It is native to shallow waters in the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, the Bahamas, Bermuda and Florida, and is listed as a "vulnerable species" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Orbicella is a genus of stony corals in the Merulinidae family. The Orbicella species complex comprises three sister species, namely Orbicella faveolata, Orbicella annularis and Orbicella franksi, all of which are shallow-water, zooxanthellate species and are native to the tropical western Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.
Joseph Richard Pawlik is a marine biologist. He is the Frank Hawkins Kenan Distinguished Professor of Marine Biology in the Department of Biology and Marine Biology at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. He is best known for studies of sponges on Caribbean coral reefs that reveal ecological principles such as resource trade-offs, trophic cascades and indirect effects.
Stony coral tissue loss disease (SCTLD) is a disease of corals that first appeared off the southeast coast of Florida in 2014. It originally was described as white plague disease. By 2019 it had spread along the Florida Keys and had appeared elsewhere in the Caribbean Sea. The disease destroys the soft tissue of at least 22 species of reef-building corals, killing them within weeks or months of becoming infected. The causal agent is unknown but is suspected to be either a bacterium or a virus with a bacterium playing a secondary role. The degree of susceptibility of a coral, the symptoms, and the rate of progression of the disease vary between species. Due to its rapid spread, high mortality rate, and lack of subsidence, it has been regarded as the deadliest coral disease ever recorded, with wide-ranging implications for the biodiversity of Caribbean coral reefs.
Human activities affect marine life and marine habitats through overfishing, habitat loss, the introduction of invasive species, ocean pollution, ocean acidification and ocean warming. These impact marine ecosystems and food webs and may result in consequences as yet unrecognised for the biodiversity and continuation of marine life forms.
David Gruber is an American marine biologist, a Presidential Professor of Biology and Environmental Sciences at Baruch College, City University of New York, and a National Geographic Explorer.
The Coral reefs of Kiribati consists of 32 atolls and one raised coral island, Banaba, which is an isolated island between Nauru and the Gilbert Islands. The islands of Kiribati are dispersed over 3.5 million km2 (1.4 million sq mi) of the Pacific Ocean and straddle the equator and the 180th meridian, extending into the eastern and western hemispheres, as well as the northern and southern hemispheres. 21 of the 33 islands are inhabited. The groups of islands of Kiribati are:
Cirrhilabrus finifenmaa, also known by its common name rose-veiled fairy wrasse, is a rainbow-colored wrasse that is native to the reefs of the Maldives.
The Marine Park Aruba are marine protected areas (MPAs) situated around the island of Aruba. This nature reserve was established on December 21, 2018 and brought under the management of Fundacion Parke Nacional Aruba on April 16, 2019.
References
- ↑ "Kristen Marhaver". WINGS WorldQuest. October 19, 2016. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
- 1 2 3 4 Ault, Alicia. "To Help Corals Fight Back, Scientists Are Breeding Populations Separated by Hundreds of Miles". Smithsonian. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
- 1 2 Hettermann, Kristin. "A Bulwark against Reef Destruction in a Warming World". Scientific American Blog Network. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
- 1 2 "Coral Reef Science | The Marhaver Lab | Curaçao". marhaverlab. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Marhaver, Kristen. "Kristen Marhaver | Speaker". TED. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
- ↑ "Dr. Kristen Marhaver" . Retrieved October 19, 2019.
- 1 2 3 "Kristen Marhaver". WINGS WorldQuest. October 19, 2016. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
- ↑ "Scientists Catch Up On The Sex Life Of Coral To Help Reefs Survive". NPR.
- ↑ Crist, Meehan (March 17, 2016). "The Quest to Save Coral Reefs". The Atlantic. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
- ↑ Deaton, Jeremy (June 23, 2016). "3D Printing Could Save Coral Reefs". Popular Science. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
- ↑ Marhaver, Kristen. "Kristen Marhaver | Speaker | TED". www.ted.com. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
- ↑ "Kristen Marhaver – Google Scholar Citations". scholar.google.com. Retrieved May 2, 2020.
- ↑ Society, National Geographic. "Find a National Geographic Explorer". www.nationalgeographic.org. Retrieved October 19, 2019.
